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In the Radiant City

USA|2016|95 minutes|Rachel Lambert

Rachel Lambert’s incisive first feature, co-produced by Jeff Nichols (Midnight Special), is an intimate drama about a man who testified against his brother for committing a horrendous crime. Twenty years later he returns to his rural Kentucky hometown to face his fractured family.

Saturday, June 10, 2017

When teenage Beth (Madisen Beaty, "The Fosters") encounters grisly, 30-something Andy (Michael Abbott Jr., Loving, Mud) outside a gas station before a party, her only thoughts are: "This guy can buy me a beer." What she didn't realize is that meeting him would be opening a whole closet of skeletons, bringing to light a dark family history that she's been shielded from her entire life. After what feels like a lifetime hiatus, Andy is back in the town he grew up in, which he hasn't returned to since he testified against his younger brother in court—sending him to jail for life around 20 years ago. Tension runs high as Andy's return throws a wrench into the already shattered life of his estranged family, especially his resentful sister Laura (Marin Ireland, "Sneaky Pete," Hell or High Water), who continues to blame him for the tragedy that tore them apart. This brooding, tightly wound drama by first-time narrative director Rachel Lambert explores the nature of violence, issues in the criminal-justice system, and if blood really is thicker than water, all in the context of a small town.

Director Biography

Rachel Lambert received a BFA from Boston University, with further education at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. After graduating, she worked as Sales Coordinator for HanWay Films under Thorsten Schumacher, while continuing to write and produce theater at the Battersea Arts Centre, Finborough Theatre and the National Theatre. Since returning to New York, she has written three feature films with her writing partner, Nathan Gregorski, including directorial debut In the Radiant City, and also directed a feature documentary, Mom Jovi, for Sequitur Cinema in Nashville which premiered at the Nashville Film Festival in 2016.

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